Brace Yourself. Kaity Goes.....Dental...Again
When I turned 13 my teeth turned against me. The =slightly= crooked teeth I had up until then, were just that. SLIGHTLY crooked. But somewhere along the way, they started becoming WAY crooked. To the point that my poor parents decided I needed braces.
They asked around and were directed to a dentist who was very inexpensive. Not an orthodontist. A dentist. Who was inexpensive, it turned out, for very good reason.
I remember his shabby little office, and his slightly soiled dentist’s coat. He took molds of my teeth and told me to return in a week. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a mouthful of steel, but I did want to have a pretty smile. My front teeth and front lower teeth were kind of a mess.
A week later, I return to Dr. X. What he put into my mouth were retainers. One for my top teeth and one for the bottom row. Not braces. He told me to wear them all the time, and to come in for adjustments.
Well, the thing about braces is….you can’t take them out. You’re kind of stuck with them until they’ve done their job. Not so with retainers. I think I wore those things for the first couple of days, as instructed, but from then on, I would take them out and put them back in and take them out and put them back in….pretty much constantly.
Then, I stopped wearing them at all during the day because they hurt AND I didn’t like the way they looked. Again, with proper braces, you can’t do much about that. But with retainers…well, let’s just say they were off more than they were on.
And if I saw Doug in the hall (the guy I had a big crush on pretty much from elementary school on) I’d stick them in my pocket and smile crookedly at him. Then forget to put them back on.
Finally, it got to the point, I would put them on only when I knew I had a checkup with Dr. X. He’d always nod approvingly. Tell me how good my teeth were looking, and how the retainers were a much better idea than braces. He was pretty smug about it.
And I’d rip them out as soon as I left his office. Did I mention it was shabby?
Or I’d snap them into place my parents noticed. And take them off as soon as they stopped noticing.
Well, you can pretty much guess what happened. Because of the erratic pressure, especially on my two front teeth…..which went on for nearly a year, the roots that anchor my two front teeth to my gums became unnaturally short. In other words, they’re barely hanging in there!
My mother, when she found out, had a practical solution. Just yank those teeth out and put in dentures. WHAT?! Mom, I’m only 14 years old! She calmly informs me that when she was my age, that’s the way they fixed HER protruding front teeth…by pulling them out and giving her dentures. I had never heard this horrifying story before, and didn’t know my mother….who was a true beauty…wore dentures!
Rest easy, friends. I did not follow the parental advice. I still have my original teeth. And I finally got serious and wore those damn retainers for another year. My teeth did end up looking better. But I live in fear of tripping and hitting my mouth because those teeth, as I told you, are just hanging on for dear life. Smile!
Comments: 10
Dear Kaity,
Rest easy my Dear. You are very beautiful!!!!! You cared for your teeth perfectly. Maybe you Mom gets some credit for the beauty.
Like you Kaity, I had to have braces, only my DDS wanted to try a new procedure on me. He would push out my teeth, and the braces wouldn't show from the front. I also had to wear rubber bands, and he had to adjust a contraption in my mouth to make the pressure more intense. What a pain in the mouth this was. And the pain could be intense, but the rubber bands came in handy when you wanted to shoot them out of your mouth, especially when you got mad, and I was mad a lot in those days, because, I was so uncomfortable. Ah, at least I didn't get a partial until I was much older. By the way, my bottom went back to their original crooked position, so all was lost. The top look ok, or better than before, but not 100% perfect. I suffered thru this nonsense for so many years, it made me want to have a mouth full of normal steel. Geez, I dread going back for the rest of my cleaning! By the way, I just chipped a tooth eating a pistascio nut. Great timing.
Kaity,
The last time I saw you was about 40 years ago. After that I saw you in various movies. Very happy to see that you have succeeded to the top of your profession. In a recent Western Alumni newsletter I saw your name listed as one of the missing ones. So I did a Google search and here you are! I forwarded your published info to the editor. I am sure they will be very happy to know that Western High has another star!
You probably do not remember me but our parents are good friends.
Wish you and your family all the best!
KFC, you went to Western? Now you have to identify yourself, if our parents are good friends!
Boy, do I have memories of that high school...which as you know, no longer exists.
It's all Doug's fault. I blame him.(Smile).
Kaity,
What a surprise! I didn't think you would answer my post. I was hoping you didn't think that it was a prank. I also didn't want the public to know every detail. Not that there is anything that's worth hiding.
I just to receive Western High Alumni's response they are hoping to make contact with you. Western High no longer exists but I think the alumni association will be there for awhile longer. Here is the URL: http://www.westernhighschool-dc.org/. I actually didn't meet you in high school. I am of class '67. I remember very clearly that very first time I met you was at Andy's house in Potomac. For some reason that image stuck in my mind all this time. But of course you were a very pretty, pleasant and gracious young college student then.
My mother's last name is Wu, now 86 years old. She is known for her writing. In her circle, your mother is know as "The Beautiful Mrs. Tong" or "Tong Mei Ren" and indeed she is.
As for me, you probably have no recollection of me. I would consider myself as one of your proud audience/fan. Anyway, my last name is Chow.
Thank you for your response.
Hey, Kaity. I am a big fan of yours for a long time, and you are still as funny and beautiful as you were back in your channel 7 days. I have a horrible fear of the Dentist. I have a tooth that needs to be capped from a mishap at work, but I am horrified of cleanings, let alone a CAP. I am in my late 40's, and I have to be sedated, otherwise I won't get the procedure done. I don't mean sweet air, I mean nighty night. Pathetic..Keep smilin'!! All the best.
You give some class to channel 11 news! You are a beautiful woman and have beautiful hair. I am always having a bad hair day. I guess it's been this awful humidity...Lee
I think it's time for a new item to discuss. I know you are busy, however, when you get the time, could you please think up another funny story?
Kaity, I empathize with you about these
dental experiences (both blogs). It's a wonder the
they didn't traumatize you! Well, perhaps
they did, but you rose above it -- and
even gave us a some funny moments.
Keep up the great blogs!
toni